Any twins on this board? I am one but have questions!

[anewvance]

I just watched "The Most Identical Twins" show on discovery channel. Which once again brings up a bunch of questions for me. My mom had my twin sister and I when she as only 17 years old. Growing up she always just called us fraternal although we looked so identical we could fool people. Always the same size, hair color and eye color and mannerisims. Even today people still get us confused, even last night at a party for my little sister I was called my sister a number of times even though we have different hair these days... we still are built pretty much the same.

Although my mom and grandma (who raised us primarily) called us fraternal, they called us mirror twins... I am left handed and she is right handed. A few years ago my mom told me she wasn't 100% sure why they called us fraternal twins all these years because she was so young when she had us, she doesn't think the doctor ever told her if we were fraternal or identical... but growning up the doctors always called us mirror twins.

So even today people ask us if we are identical and we always kinda hmm and huh and say we are fraternal but mirror twins. (Edited to say that people actually say "you must be identica!l" or "you are identical aren't you?") But like I said, growing up and even now, we look so alike that people are still mistaking us for each other. Now, upon research I know you can't be both! If you are a mirror twin, you are identical.

There was a group of questions on a website to help determine, went like this:

Do you have the same eye colour - yup, exact same blue

Do you have similar height, weight and natural hair colour and texture - she is like maybe 1/2 inch taller then me, same NATURAL hair color and very same texture, thick and straight, but we both color our hair and have different hair styles

Were you usually mistaken for one another by non-family members as children - ALL THE TIME, even today

So under the questions it said this: If the answer to these three questions is "yes", the pair is quite likely monozygotic (identical).

So what do you all think??? Should I just figure we are identical from what I know? Is it hard to get tested as an adult and worth it? It's such a dumb thing to go on thinking about but I want to know darn it!

I don't know if I have any pictures of us as kids and now scanned but i'll look around and see if I can post any and let you judge! I find myself looking at pictures of us as kids and even I can't tell in a number of them!

 

[DisneyJules]

I'm a twin! I have a twin sister. Growing up we looked quite a lot alike. My parents always said that we were identical, or atleas they were 98% postive. The doctor was completely able to tell. But now that we're older, I am 99% postive that we are indeed fraternal. We look alike but not enough to be identical. Definitely not!
We are still often confused by people. But standing side by side, you can tell that our noses, eyes, face shape and lips are all different! It even surprises me sometime that we can look alike despite having completely different features. I don't get it

 

[Daisy Duck 5]

A single DNA can determine if you are identical or not.
Here is a link if you want to pay the money http://www.genetree.com/product/twin-dna-testing.asp
I learned in school that identical twins have the same finger prints so you could get an ink pad for about $5 and try that first. I tried it with my mom and aunt who are identical twins and it worked I think. Another test would be to see if you have the same blood type, identical twins much have the same blood type.

 

[mtemm]

I'm not a twin, but I have a set of 2 year old twins (I know they are fraternal since they are b/g lol). I know a lot of people on my twins board who have their twins tested to find out if they are identical or fraternal. Its a simple dna test so I can't imagine that you couldn't do it as an adult.

if you haven't checked it out, check out www.twinstuff.com

Its a site for twins of all ages, not just for parents raising twins.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'm a mother of twins. Doctors cannot tell for sure at the time of birth in all cases. The best way if you really want to know would have your DNA tested. I would want to know if I were you.

BTW, I have a boy/girl pair, and you wouldn't believe how many people ask us if they're identical, LOL.

 

[anewvance]

We have the same blood type.... a positive. I think i'll try the ink pad and try to check out our prints. Eventually I do want to have the dna test done, I do want to know for sure.

 

[VSL]

So even today people ask us if we are identical and we always kinda hmm and huh and say we are fraternal but mirror twins. But like I said, growing up and even now, we look so alike that people are still mistaking us for each other. Now, upon research I know you can't be both! If you are a mirror twin, you are identical.

I was going to say about the mirror thing meaning that you are probably identical.
But, surely, if people have to ask if you're identical, maybe you're not

Either way, I hope you get to the bottom of this!

*is not a twin as far as she knows... - and knows a few pairs of identical and non-identical twins!*

 

[laurajetter]

I learned in school that identical twins have the same finger prints so you could get an ink pad for about $5 and try that first.

Actually, I had always heard the opposite was true. I did a quick search and here is what I found:

Do Identical Twins Have Identical Fingerprints?

Identical twins generate a lot of curiosity. And a lot of misconceptions! Parents of multiples have probably not given a great deal of thought to their childrens' fingerprint patterns, but the general public has spent a lot of time wondering about this topic.

So, do identical twins have identical fingerprints? The basic answer is NO. Identical -- or monozygotic -- twins form when a single fertilized egg splits in two after conception. Because they form from a single zygote, the two individuals will have the same genetic makeup. Their DNA is virtually indistinguishable.

However, fingerprints are not an entirely genetic characteristic. Scientists love to use this topic as an example of the old "nature vs. nurture" debate. Fingerprinting, along with other physical characteristics, is an example of a phenotype -- meaning that it is determined by the interaction of an indivdual's genes and the developmental environment in the uterus.

The ultimate shape of fingerprints are believed to be influenced by environmental factors during pregnancy, like nutrition, blood pressure, position in the womb and the growth rate of the fingers at the end of the first trimester.

Thus, you will find similar partterns of whorls and ridges in the fingerprints of identical twins. But there will also be differences -- just as there are differences between the fingers on any individual's hands.

I just wanted to throw that out there so that you don't immediately think you are not identical if your prints don't match...

Laura

 

[anewvance]

This is the only picture I have right now online of us together.... this was my wedding day.

 

[VSL]

Yeah - and I remember a few years back, I was watching a documentary on TV and it was basically saying that identical twins aren't totally identical!

 

[golfgal]

True mirror twins are from the same egg and that would classify them as identical. We have b/g twins that are complete opposites, blonde/blue eyed boy, brunette/brown eyed girl but people still ask us if they are identical.

Some friends have twin girls that they assumed all along were fraternal because they didn't think they looked alike although the rest of us can't tell them apart. They took part in a twin study at the University of Minnesota and discovered that they are actually identical.

 

[VSL]

I would say that you are identical.
I can see a difference in you - but like I said in my previous post, even identical twins aren't totally identical.

 

[anewvance]

But, surely, if people have to ask if you're identical, maybe you're not
QUOTE]

Actually, we more get "you've GOT to be identical" then asking if we are identical, lol.

 

[crazyforgoofy]

My daughter had identical twin buddies growing up. They were 'mirror image' by their mother's definition. The side of one's face matched the opposite side of the other's face (left matched right, right matched left) One girl was left handed, one right handed. It was very difficult to tell them apart even after knowing them for years and years.

Hey, you look enough alike to me to be identical,

 

[ZachnElli]

I've always read that mirror twins are identical. That the egg split really early and that's what made them mirror images of each other. The actress that was in Terminator (I'm forgetting her name right now) has a mirror twin. She said that they both have the same mole on their faces, just opposite sides, like looking in a mirror. I wouldn't go by if people have to ask. My dad still gets asked if his twin sister and him are identical! He always says yes, the plumbing is just different!

 

[SPAM]

i am an identical twin.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Does anybody think it's odd that I PRAYED for twins when I was pregnant with DS?

I thought that though it was highly unlikely we'd ever have twins, having twins would be kind of cool. DH's grandfather is a twin (had a twin sister) as well as DH's grandfather's older brother/sister.

Somebody told me twin-ism comes from the mother's side of the family, but how likely is it that somebody with no twins in the family on the maternal side will have twins? Anybody know?

TOV

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Funny thing, the Olson twins are Fraternal, but I think those girls look SO alike. Especially when they were children.

 

[Mermaid02]

My dh is an identical twin, but they don't really look THAT much alike anymore. They sound JUST alike though.

 

[Snoozan]

I'm an identical twin - at least that's what I've always been told. My twin sister and I are mirror twins - she's a lefty, I'm a righty. We've always been about the same size(height/weight)except when I thinned out about a year earlier than her during puberty! Today, we are about exactly the same height and our weight is probably w/i 5 pounds of each other - not bad considering I've had thryoid issues. Our natural hair color is basically the same and we even color our hair by sharing a bottle of color since we keep our short hairdos almost the same. Our voices are so much the same we can confuse even our husbands and kids on the phone or if they're not looking at us. Even I think it's my twin when I hear myself on a phone message!

I'd say the OP is an identical twin, based on the picture. Very similiar features and size.

I LOVE being a twin and my sister's been my best friend forever. We even had our own language back when we were kids - we even got sent to speech therapy before starting school because our parents & doctor were concerned about our language development because we didn't have much need for "normal" language.